BUZZ-U.S. Stocks on the Move-Energy stocks, XTL, Cree, market debuts

Reuters Staff

9 Min Read

(For faster updates on individual market-movers, Eikon users please use search string "STXBZ US"; for more market insights, including options activity, ; for the Day Ahead newsletter, link.reuters.com/mex49s; for the Morning News Call newsletter, link.reuters.com/nex49s) U.S. stocks sharply cut their losses in afternoon trading and the Nasdaq rebounded after a steep decline earlier Thursday, but energy shares lagged the broader market. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.09 percent at 16,820.31 and the S&P 500 was up 0.09 percent at 1,947.9.

** EXCO RESOURCES INC, $2.82, -7.54 pct

** PENN VIRGINIA CORP, $12.07, -0.41 pct

** CALLON PETROLEUM CO, $8.42, -1.86 pct

** SWIFT ENERGY CO, $8.91, -3.26 pct

** ENPHASE ENERGY INC, $12.905, -10.63 pct

** TORCHLIGHT ENERGY RESOURCES INC, $3, -14.28 pct

U.S. exploration and production companies’ shares were down after oil prices fell to their lowest since June 2012 on Thursday. The fall was due to price cuts from top producer Saudi Arabia, in addition to supply glut worries and weak global economic data.

** XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD, $3.5, +112.12 pct

** ELI LILLY & CO, $64.86, -0.34 pct

Eli Lilly said it would discontinue the development of its lupus drug as the treatment was not found to be effective enough in two late-stage trials.

Israel-based XTL will start mid-stage studies of its lupus drug in mid-2015. The company said on Sept. 2 it intends to approach the U.S. FDA with a finalized trial design for its lupus drug by the end of this year.

** FEMALE HEALTH CO, $4.362, +31.39 pct

The female condom maker said it expected a 15 percent jump in fourth-quarter revenue, helped by strong sales of its FC2 condoms.

** KANDI TECHNOLOGIES GROUP INC, $14.39, +19.62 pct

The Chinese electric vehicle maker said its car passed an inspection that will allow it to start a car-share service in Nanjing, Eastern China.

** GOPRO INC, $83.5501, -8.99 pct

The company said about 5.8 million of its 20.5 million Class A shares have been exempted from the lock-up period that ends in December, after founders donate shares to their not-for-profit foundation.

In another development, Jim Cramer, the host of CNBC's "Mad Money" show and co-founder of financial news website TheStreet.com, said investors should not put more money into GoPro. (reut.rs/1sLWiLD) (bit.ly/1vxoQ8B)

Cramer said sales of GoPro’s newly launched “HERO4” camera would not impress investors.

** ESPERION THERAPEUTICS INC, $28.5, +16.71 pct

The drugmaker said an experimental cholesterol-fighting drug being developed by the company lowered LDL levels significantly more than Merck & Co Inc’s Zetia in a midstage clinical trial.

** REVANCE THERAPEUTICS INC, $17, -7.46 pct

BMO Capital cut its price target on the stock to $31 from $37.

The company said on Wednesday that results from a late-stage study of its skin gel, RT-001, had been pushed to the first quarter of 2015 from the end of 2014

** REALD INC, $11.52, +24.27 pct

Activist investor Starboard Value LP proposed to take the 3D technology licensor private for $12 per share. The offer represents a premium of 29 percent to RealD stock’s Wednesday close of $9.27, valuing the company at about $540 million.

** AAC HOLDINGS INC, $18.79, +25.27 pct

The substance abuse treatment servicer made a strong market debut, rising as much as 44 percent.

** WAYFAIR INC, $36.75, +26.72 pct

The online home-furnishing retailer’s shares made a strong debut. The company’s IPO of 11 million class A common shares was priced at $29 each, above its expected range of $25-$28 per share

** TESLA MOTORS INC, $251.4944, +4.68 pct

The electric car maker’s chief executive, Elon Musk, sent out a cryptic tweet on Wednesday, saying it is “about time to unveil the D and something else”, with an accompanying photo which mentioned a date, Oct. 9.

** HEAT BIOLOGICS INC, $6.67, +7.93 pct

The drug developer said it completed enrollment of patients for an early-stage study of its bladder cancer treatment, Vesigenurtacel-L. The company said it expects to start mid-stage study for the drug in the fourth quarter.

** ATTENTO SA, $12.86, -14.27 pct

The business process outsourcing company’s shares fell as much as 12.5 pct to $13.12 in their debut, valuing the company at about $956 million.

** TWITTER INC, $51.89, +3.66 pct

JP Morgan raised the microblogging website company’s stock to “overweight” from “neutral” and increased its price target to $64 from $54. “Twitter is a primary beneficiary of the shift toward mobile advertising,” JP Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth wrote in a note.

** ARIAD PHARMACEUTICALS INC, $5.89, +11.55 pct

The drug developer said its experimental lung cancer drug received “breakthrough therapy” status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

** KITE PHARMA INC, $30.85, +8.97 pct

Analysts from Guggenheim Securities started coverage of the company’s stock with a “buy” rating and a price target of $73.

The company said in August its cancer immunotherapy showed potential in treating an aggressive form of blood cancer in an early stage study

** BASSETT FURNITURE INDUSTRIES, $15.1, +14.31 pct

The company said third-quarter sales rose 10.4 percent to $85.2 million after it moved more production to the United States to ensure faster delivery of custom products.

The company’s net income rose to $2.3 million, or $0.21 per share, in the quarter ended Aug. 30, from $0.5 million, or $0.05 per share, a year earlier.

** WALTER ENERGY, $2.37, +13.94 pct

UK Guardian's market blog said BHP Billiton Ltd or Rio Tinto Ltd may be considering a bid for the coal miner (bit.ly/1ryKN8W)

** HORSEHEAD HOLDING CORP, $15.05, -6.23 pct

The company said its third quarter will be hurt by expenses associated with the restarting of its Mooresboro, North Carolina plant after an outage.

** CREE INC, $35.145, -11.29 pct

The light-emitting diodes maker said it expects first-quarter revenue of about $428 million, significantly below the average analyst expectation of $455.3 million

The company said it expects LED products revenue to decline 20 pct to $174 million due to weaker global demand.

** WILAN INC, $3.13, -10.87 pct

The Canadian patent licensing company on Wednesday said a U.S. judge had ruled in favor of Apple Inc in a litigation case against it.

** MASIMO CORP, $22.05, -8.20 pct

The Dutch healthcare equipment company Philips said on Thursday it would appeal against a U.S court ruling ordering it to pay $466.8 million in compensation to Masimo for infringing two patents.

** NEWLINK GENETICS CORP, $23.8299, +3.83 pct

The drug developer appointed Jack Henneman, former chief financial officer of Integra Lifesciences Holdings Corp , its executive vice president and CFO.

** CALITHERA BIOSCIENCES, $9.5, -5.00 pct

The pharmaceutical company debuted with an offering of 8 million common shares priced at $10 each, below its expected range of $13-$15 per share.

** SEARS HOLDINGS CORP, $26.7601, +6.28 pct

Sears Holdings said it would sell most of its stake in Sears Canada Inc through a rights issue that would raise up to $380 million ahead of the holiday season.

** AUTODESK INC, $57.82, +3.88 pct

Analysts from Cowen and Co raised their rating on the stock to “outperform” from “market perform”, citing a recent acceleration in desktop subscriptions.

Credit Suisse also raised its rating on the stock to “outperform” from “neutral”, according to Theflyonthewall.com.